its going to be a long year http://www.speedtest.net/result/7862010559

Just an update the service has got worse not better, Vodafone just seem to have rose coloured glasses on and say there is no issue, despite there own forums getting more and more complaints.

im still locked in to a contract until December 2019, im not going to pay them for a service so i can cancel it, so i am going to install an addition broadband and leave Vodafone as a backup maybe route the guest WIFI over it.

Yes it is very frustrating - I've not even bothered to call tech support as they'll likely go down the scripted route of use the test socket, reboot the router etc etc. My line is very stable from monitoring DSL stats and BQM etc. and don't really want to disturb it.

Their network has gone a bit odd this time - when I had congestion previously it was peak only and generally slowed everything down. After a couple of months they upgraded something and overnight I got fast speed 24/7.

This time it is a bit different - different services, routes etc seem to be affected and affected services seem to be like it 24hrs a day. Speed tests are fairly consistent 24/day but single thread tests poor on some checkers. Downloads can be odd too, downloading the Windows 10 ISO the other day was exceptionally poor a few hundred Kbps, yet seconds later Windows update was pulling nearly the theoretical max for the line (~62Mbps). TBB download files vary (you've got to watch which browser you use as to whether its single or multi thread).

One thing to note on the Ookla speedtest at the moment the Vodafone Newbury server is unbelievably pathetic 24/7 (In another thread I think someone was told by customer services not to use it!!), yet other servers are much better, here are a couple of tests a few mins ago:

All single thread tests, Voda Newbury:

http://www.speedtest.net/result/7936048311

Yet several other servers give like this:
http://www.speedtest.net/result/7936045218

For a while the TBB test gives me poor single thread 24/7 which always quickly falls in speed:


Youtube and BBC iPlayer seem relatively unaffected and can easily watch 4K.

I appreciate there are different routes traffic will take in the core network and different ones can be congested etc but this doesn't seem quite right.

Do I have a distant memory of there being a clause in the T&C about if they cannot provide satisfactory performance you should be able to end contract - although providing the evidence etc will be a pain, starting with the "sync" guarantee, fine if you have issues with sync, but then they should be sending an openreach engineer round!!

Hi,

Are you aware that IF Vodafone aren't providing you with the service that they are contracted to then you CAN leave WITHOUT any penalties at all (AFAIK)....

HTH,

In reply to a post by mking90031:

Hi,

Are you aware that IF Vodafone aren't providing you with the service that they are contracted to then you CAN leave WITHOUT any penalties at all (AFAIK)....

HTH,

That doesn't help when Vodafone refuse to acknowledge a problem though does it.
If it was that easy the OP would have jumped ship rather than considering buying out their contract.

Vodafone make it very difficult to get out of the contract, often insisting on multiple engineer visits, using their router and them sending a replacement router.

Also be interested in seeing where in the contract it states the expected peak time performance levels

The recent broadband T&C are here:
Voda Broadband Aug 2018 onwards

Section 4 has some terms regarding speed:

"4.2. Broadband Speed. Broadband speeds referred to in your Service Confirmation Letter are minimum and maximum download and upload speeds. Speeds may vary significantly by location and are dependent on all equipment meeting minimum specifications, being fully functional and working at full speed. Other factors can also impact internet speeds. Should your sync speed continuously or regularly fall significantly below the minimum guaranteed speed set out in your Service Confirmation Letter, please contact us. If we’re unable to resolve the issue you may select an alternative lower speed product (if one is available to you) or terminate your agreement. Your sync speed is the data speed of the line from the street cabinet or telephone exchange to your router. Please see speeds and your rights as a consumer"

The hyperlinked PDF describes sync speed throughput and the average (Although IMHO the emphaisis on throughput issues are customer premises based and only a brief mention of the upstream network) The "mimimum guaranteed speed" referred to I would read as the sync speed, although they shoud (in my opinion) having defined the sync throughput use this terminology in their T&Cs to be clearer.

Their traffic managemnt policy is referenced here:
"4.4. Traffic Management Policy. See information about any traffic management we may apply."

Unfortunately their link to traffic management doesn't work!! (404 error).

7.3(d) mentions "If the service is materially degraded for an unreasonable period of time or if we don’t do something fundamental that we should have done under this Agreement you may be able to leave the Agreement early without paying a termination fee."

which is probably the early exit I recall reading.

So the peak speeds don't seem to be referenced directly, with most terms referrig to sync speeds not throughput or ambiguous.

Like most consumer ISP's. Nothing unusual about t&pc's like that with most referring to sync speed.

If you want minimum guaranteed throughput at peak times then it's going to cost considerably more than Vodafone charge.

Bingo

In reply to a post by j0hn83:

Like most consumer ISP's. Nothing unusual about t&pc's like that with most referring to sync speed.

If you want minimum guaranteed throughput at peak times then it's going to cost considerably more than Vodafone charge.

True, but at the moment customers can't really tell what they are buying before the purchase.

If I switch electricity suppliers the quality of the supplied product, i.e volts and amps, would remain the same.